Featured Research

from universities, journals, and other organizations

More environmental rules needed for shale gas, says geophysicist

Date:

February 6, 2012

Source:

Stanford University

Summary:

In his State of the Union address, President Barack Obama praised the potential of the country's tremendous supply of natural gas buried in shale. But the "Halliburton exclusion" passed by Congress says gas companies don't have to disclose the chemicals used in fracturing fluids. That was a real mistake because it makes the public needlessly paranoid, says a geophysicist.

Share This

In his State of the Union address, President Barack Obama praised the potential of the country's tremendous supply of natural gas buried in shale. He echoed the recommendations for safe extraction made by an advisory panel that included Stanford geophysicist Mark Zoback. The panel made 20 recommendations for regulatory reform, some of which go well beyond what the president mentioned in his address.

Related Articles

The topic is controversial. Breaking up rock layers thousands of feet underground with hydraulic fracturing has unleashed so many minuscule bubbles of methane that shale gas now accounts for 30 percent of U.S. gas production, an increase in supply that has pummeled the commodity's price. The gas industry will support more than 600,000 jobs by the end of the decade, Obama said.

But environmental concerns about the technology behind the boom -- specifically hydraulic fracturing -- receive near daily news coverage, with opponents saying that toxic additives in the water used for the fracturing have found their way into household tap water, among other concerns.

Obama said natural gas producers will have to disclose the chemicals they add to the fracturing slurry of water and sand when they are working on federal lands. The Secretary of Energy's seven-person advisory group on shale gas, of which Zoback was a member, called for such disclosure by shale gas operators on all lands. The advisory group further recommended that data on a well-by-well basis be posted on publicly available, searchable websites.

"The problem is that the president only has jurisdiction over federal lands, while states regulate development on private land, where most of the shale formations are found," Zoback said. "The so-called 'Halliburton exclusion' passed by Congress says gas companies don't have to disclose the chemicals in fracturing fluids. That was a real mistake because it makes the public needlessly paranoid."

The chemical additives used during hydraulic fracturing are really not a serious issue, Zoback said at the Precourt Institute for Energy's weekly Energy Seminar. The problem lies elsewhere: Once water is injected into the shale, it can pick up naturally occurring selenium, arsenic and iron, a lot of salt and even radioactive particles. Thus, when this water flows back up the well, it has to be disposed of properly. What gas companies do with that water is a serious regulatory problem. Typically, they either reuse it or inject it into deep saline aquifers, Zoback said, and regulators must monitor the safe disposal of the water.

"In western Pennsylvania, the gas companies initially said that recycling water used for hydraulic fracturing couldn't be done economically," Zoback said. "But because there were really no good options for safe disposal, they now recycle 95 percent of the water used, and it's not a big deal." Much is still to be discovered about the rapidly expanding technology, Zoback said.

"I think it is fair to say that the bigger producers have no problem with our 20 recommendations. The question is whether state regulators will implement them and small companies will be forced to follow them as well as large ones," Zoback said. "That's of great concern to us."

Obama cited shale gas development as justification for federal investments in clean energy technology, which have been under attack since the bankruptcy of solar panel manufacturer Solyndra, which received federal loan guarantees on about $500 million it borrowed.

"Public research dollars, over the course of 30 years, helped develop the technologies to extract all this natural gas out of shale rock -- reminding us that government support is critical in helping businesses get new energy ideas off the ground," the president said. "Payoffs on these public investments don't always come right away. Some technologies don't pan out; some companies fail. But I will not walk away from the promise of clean energy."

If well regulated, the enhanced gas supplies could cheaply supplant coal as the main source for electricity generated by burning fossil fuel, which would go far in reducing the threat of climate change, Zoback said. Gas produces half the carbon dioxide of coal per kilowatt-hour of electricity produced. And major oil companies are investing heavily to develop natural gas liquids to displace gasoline and diesel fuel in transportation, which could improve economic and national security.

"Gas is the bridge fuel to a decarbonized future, not a way of sustaining business as usual," Zoback said.

Story Source:

The above story is based on materials provided by Stanford University. The original article was written by Mark Golden. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.

More From ScienceDaily

More Matter & Energy News

Featured Research

Mar. 31, 2015 — Landfills can make a profit from all their rotting waste and a new patent explains exactly how to make the most out of the stinky garbage sites. Decomposing trash produces methane, a landfill gas ... full story

Mar. 31, 2015 — Scientists have achieved an unprecedented level of control over defects in liquid crystals that can be engineered for applications in liquid matter photonics. Sitting with a joystick in the comfort ... full story

Mar. 30, 2015 — Neuroscientists are taking inspiration from natural motor control to design new prosthetic devices that can better replace limb function. Researchers have tested a range of brain-controlled devices ... full story

Mar. 30, 2015 — Speaking in public is the top fear for many people. Now, researchers have developed an intelligent user interface for 'smart glasses' that gives real-time feedback to the speaker on volume modulation ... full story

Mar. 30, 2015 — By studying the morphology and physiology of plants with tiny conical "hairs" or microfibers on the surface of their leaves, such as tomatoes, balsam pears and the flowers Berkheya purpea and Lychnis ... full story

Mar. 30, 2015 — In the first study of its kind, scientists quantitatively show that electric vehicles will meet the daily travel needs of drivers longer than commonly assumed. They found that batteries that have ... full story

Mar. 30, 2015 — As the demand for instant, constant communication grows, so too does the urgency for more convenient portable devices -- especially computer displays that can be easily rolled up and stored or ... full story

Mar. 30, 2015 — There are electrical signals in the nervous system, the brain and throughout the human body and there are tiny magnetic fields associated with these signals that could be important for medical ... full story

Mar. 30, 2015 — Scientists have developed tiny 'nanoneedles' that have successfully prompted parts of the body to generate new blood vessels, in a trial in mice. The researchers hope their nanoneedle technique could ... full story

Bionic Ants Could Be Tomorrow's Factory Workers

Reuters - Innovations Video Online (Mar. 30, 2015) — Industrious 3D printed bionic ants working together could toil in the factories of the future, says German technology company Festo. The robotic insects cooperate and coordinate their actions and movements to achieve a common aim. Amy Pollock reports.
Video provided by Reuters

Related Stories

Apr. 23, 2014 — The shale gas boom has transformed the energy landscape in the U.S., but in some drier locations, it could cause conflict among the energy industry, residents and agricultural interests over ... full story

Jan. 22, 2013 — Hydraulically fractured natural gas wells are producing less wastewater per unit of gas recovered than conventional wells would. But the scale of fracking operations in the Marcellus shale region is ... full story

July 16, 2012 — As the natural gas extraction process known as fracking surges across Pennsylvania, scientists are trying to understand what the short- and long-term consequences could be for the state's ... full story

Apr. 12, 2011 — Natural gas extracted from shale formations has a greater greenhouse gas footprint -- in the form of methane emissions -- than conventional gas, oil and coal over a 20 year period. This calls into ... full story

ScienceDaily features breaking news and videos about the latest discoveries in health, technology, the environment, and more -- from major news services and leading universities, scientific journals, and research organizations.